While the Perioperative Internship Program offers a structured learning environment, it’s the personal experiences of instructors and students that truly bring the program to life. Here, we share an inspiring narrative from Joanne Sherer, the UPMC Montefiore Operating Room Unit Director and Carlow Clinical Instructor, highlighting the profound impact of this program. This is Joanne’s story:
I have been an OR nurse, educator, and leader for many years. As I taught many nurses over the years, I was keenly aware that the schools of nursing offered little exposure to the operating room. I was passionate about introducing nursing students to the OR. In the summer of 2015, I had the greatest opportunity to collaborate with Carlow University in creating a Perioperative Internship Program. My vision was to bring students into the OR and give them the opportunity to see what really happens behind those OR doors. What happened that first summer was nothing short of a wondrous, amazing experience for the students, experienced OR nurses that were preceptors, and me! We had begun an incredible journey that we knew and felt had to continue.
It has been eight years since that inaugural class of 2016 and each summer the class renews itself with more passion than the previous class. It is an awesome experience for all that take part in it!
In fact, at UPMC Presbyterian’s magnate accreditation, the surveyor called out this very program and gave it an exemplar rating which has never happened for any other UPMC facility. This program is exemplar and an experience that you will never forget!
The Perioperative Internship Program helps prepare Carlow nurses to be ethical leaders striving to create a more just and merciful world.
